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Showing posts with label political analysis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label political analysis. Show all posts

Silence of KDM giants disappointing

Come Sunday, the full list of candidates for all constituencies in the 13th General Election, will be known. Between nomination day up to voting, more crossovers from opposition parties to BN component parties or vice-versa can be expected starting with the ‘ditching’ of DAP by two Kadazan leaders in Sabah.

The purported reason behind the crossovers was due to KDM’s main leaders launching a so-called ‘Gelombang Tataba” a vision that would bring golden opportunities for the people through the unity of the three KDM BN component parties.

Anwar after Hindraf over Ministry of Orang Asal and Minority Affairs (Moama)

By Joe Fernandez

Is Jayathas of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), allegedly Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s newly-recruited political mandore from Hindraf, trying to say the NGO should not be registered just because his boss doesn’t like it?

It appears to be so judging from his song-and-dance act on Sat at a press conference, for his 15 minutes of fame, on the subject.

Hindraf, or any organisation, has a right to be registered. It's the Registrar of Societies (ROS) which plays politics with registration, on the instructions of Umno, until the matter ends up in Court. Umno doesn't own the ROS.

Mere ‘fraud’ not consideration in 13th GE

By Joe Fernandez   

Malaysians by and large worry that “fraudulent practices” by way of the electoral rolls and at the ballot box will cheat them out of the Government they want in Putrajaya and in the states. This should not be read as having a Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Government in the Federal Administrative Centre instead of one formed by the Barisan Nasional (BN).

Fraud can work both ways although the outgoing BN, revamped from the Alliance Party in the wake of the searing Sino-Malay race riots of 13 May, 1969, has ruled the country since 1957 when the British left Malaya.

Fraud in Malaysian politics never-ending

By Joe Fernandez

If the 1987 Umno presidential election is taken as one yardstick, the response of the Court may not be in favour of a novel development of the law or, as some would allege, making law.

In that party election, the Court discovered that votes from 30 illegal party branches may have contributed towards Mahathir Mohamad’s narrow 43-vote victory over his challenger Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. It was alleged that the 30 illegal branches were aligned towards Mahathir. Even so, in a surprising ruling, Judge Harun Hashim declared the entire party unlawful. Had the Judge concluded that the illegal votes may have gone in the direction of Razaleigh, that ruling would not have arisen since the outcome was not affected!

Suluks next big wave after Hindraf's makkal sakthi

By Joe Fernandez
The Suluks are the next big wave in Malaysian politics, indeed a political tsunami, after Hindraf's makkal sakthi (people power in Tamil) in 2008.

Why not?

There are an estimated 800,000 Suluks in Sabah albeit including illegal immigrants. The fear of such a political tsunami is evident in the declaration of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) and the Eastern Sabah Safety Zone (ESSZONE).

ICJ best forum to settle Sabah, S’wak, S’pore questions

By Joe Fernandez
If the Government in Putrajaya is truly honest with itself, it will confront the fact that there’s very little sympathy in Sabah and Sarawak on the ground for the security forces apparently battling it out in Lahad Datu. It’s 50 years too late. They might as well pack up and go home and instead recall the Sabah Border Scouts and Sarawak Rangers.

At the same time, the continuing statements from one Jamalul Kiram III, the Manila press, the Philippines Government and Nur Misuari of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) on Sabah and Sarawak are being viewed in the right perspective.

Anwar’s hand in Lahad Datu isn’t credible theory!

By Joe Fernandez
There is quite a bit of material in the mainstream and alternative media hinting, suggesting and even accusing Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim as the arch villain behind the Lahad Datu intrusion and subsequent standoff.

As the various conspiracy theories go, this is the weakest of them all. We can only await the proposed Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Lahad Datu with bated breaths.

Anwar may have met Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Nur Misuari in Jakarta and Manila, as reported by several sources including Malaysia Today. However, such meetings by themselves tell nothing. Both men were longtime friends. The MNLF Leader may have wanted to catch up with the Opposition Leader because he’s also the Prime Minister in Waiting.

Malays must avoid being a Broken People

By Joe Fernandez
If Malays want to avoid being a Broken People, they and others as well, should not get into rhetoric and polemics and the politics of disruption and distraction.

The media, in that sense, is doing a great disservice to the people. They should focus on helping make a difference for the better, not run back and forth between Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim to manufacture news. Every fart from Mahathir is in the news.

We should focus on what brings us together as a people.

Malaysia has an Evil side that bears watching!

By Joe Fernandez
Dr Paraman, as usual, has put together a thought-provoking piece -- Hindraf critics are demonising the victims in http://english.cpiasia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2503&catid=219&Itemid=189 -- and no doubt with the help of subject matter experts on several related issues.

No one can deny the arguments being made and which can continue to be made among others by the Indian Nation in Malaysia, the largely stateless underclass in particular.

Insecurity in eastern Sabah raises questions!

By Joe Fernandez
Hoteliers in Sabah are grumbling increasingly loudly that tourists are canceling too many bookings in the wake of the Lahad Datu Standoff and the on-going mopping up operations by security forces. They worry that things may become a whole lot worse for the hospitality industry in the state before turning for the better, if at all, in the near future.

The state has some 25, 000 hotel rooms to help the hospitality industry rake in some RM 5.2 billion last year from nearly three million visitors. The forecast revenue for 2015, according to Sabah Tourism Board chairman Tengku Zainal Adlin, is RM 15 billion on the high side. That amounts to a quarter of the RM 60 billion per annum that Malaysia presently collects from tourism receipts.

Media should not play up Mahathir

By Joe Fernandez 
The way former Prime Mahathir Mohamad has been carrying on since retiring, keeping himself very much in the public eye, it appears that he wants his old job back and this time perhaps until he dies and that could be at 97+. That could be the real reason why the 13th General Election has been unduly delayed.

Mahathir is now 88 years old.

Mahathir's latest visit was to Sabah where he visited the troops in Lahad Datu besides delivering a lecture at UMS on the RCI.

Jeffrey wants Orang Asal, Allies as ‘Force to be Reckoned With’ in mainstream politics

By Joe Fernandez
Activists from Sabah strongman Jeffrey Kitingan's various NGOs are mercilessly bludgeoning both sides of the political divide, even mosquito parties, with sledgehammers of sorts. Apparently, Jeffrey is leaving nothing to chance as the countdown to the 13th General Elections is set to begin after the Christmas and New Year festive cheers. This is politics in the jungle at its best.

Jeffrey's inner circle points out that even if the other Opposition and ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) "did not ask for it", they would be "morally obliged to make mincemeat of all those who are against the Agenda Borneo". The Agenda Borneo, in a nutshell, stands against everything that the "agenda parti parti Malaya in Borneo" or "Agenda Malaya" stands for in Sabah and Sarawak. The Borneon in Jeffrey alleges that the Agenda Malaya is a thinly-disguised policy of internal colonisation in Sabah and Sarawak, waged against the Orang Asal in particular -- Murut and Dusun including Kadazan or urban Dusun in Sabah and Dayak in Sarawak -- and Borneons in general.

Sabah security in fits-and-starts

By Joe Fernandez
Sabah security in fits-and-starts just won’t do.

We are now told that the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) will be responsible for security along the newly-created Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) stretching from Kudat in the North to Tawau in the south-east corner, past the wolf’s mouth segment on the map of the territory.

Mindef takes over from the all-powerful Prime Minister’s Department (PMD) which had hitherto been apparently responsible for security in Sabah. Indeed, it appears that the reason why Malaysian security forces have been slow in responding to the Lahad Datu intrusion and Standoff may be more due to the fact that the PMD was solely responsible for security in Sabah.

13th GE may reflect ‘fallout’ from Lahad Datu Standoff

By Joe Fernandez
It cannot be denied that for various reasons the on-going Lahad Datu Standoff may have an effect on the forthcoming 13th General Election results in Sabah.

The jury is still out on the question of who stands to “gain” most and who stands to “lose” i.e. if the General Election in eastern Sabah is held at the same time as in the rest of the Territory and country.

Judging from former Sabah Chief Minister Harris Salleh’s reported appeal letter this week to Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein Onn, the police are seizing the Malaysian personal documents of Suluks in Semporna and Lahad Datu and tearing them up before their very eyes. Apparently, these documents include IMM13 immigration documents issued to refugees and MyPRs or the red-coloured Permanent Residence Identity Cards.

Najib’s ‘C’ word designed to insult Indians, Others,

By Joe Fernandez
The various “initiatives” for the Indian Nation in Malaysia announced by Prime Minister Najib Mohd Razak was, according to him, designed to make the community “competitive”.

He wants Indians to place their continued Nambikkei (Trust in Tamil) in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) so that it can carry out even more “initiatives” that will benefit the community.

Legal Sophistry to Support Argument That Sabah is Part of Malaysia

In 1963, Sabah was bundled with Sarawak into a strategic arrangement between Britain and Malaya to consolidate Britain's colonial territories and economic interests and replace British colonial rule in this region with Malayan rule in the newly created Malaysia.

When the Malaysia proposal was announced in 1961 by Tunku Abdul Rahman, this immediately touched off local and regional controversy and opposition to "Malaysia" as a neo-colonial scheme to prolong colonial rule- especially by Indonesia and the Philippines. This led to Indonesia's Konfrontasi against Malaysia and the Philippines claim on Sabah.

Waking up from slumber in Sabah, Sarawak

By Joe Fernandez
In the Bible, Matthew 13:10-17, it's stated that Jesus said: “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”

In 1963, Malaya had a lot. Yet, more was given to them when Sabah and Sarawak were taken away from the people, the Orang Asal in particular.

Even the little that the people of Sabah and Sarawak had was taken away from them, “because while seeing they do not see and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”Matthew 13:10-17

Covering the elections fairly

I WAS struck last week by theSun’s reporting of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR)’s convention and newly unveiled manifesto. The 26 Feb 2013 coverage featured a full page on the PR convention and another colour page with a summary of the manifesto’s highlights. The articles were generally neutral and informative, and gave a good overview of what the PR was promising if it were to take federal power at the next general election. Reports the next day focused on analysts and non-governmental organisations’ critical reactions to the manifesto.

Lahad Datu invasion: The real story?

The sultanate has little resources at its disposal to run
the 'government' of Sulu. Thus a fresh deal with
Malaysia will help it keep the ball rolling.
The Lahad Datu “invasion” is not merely about a group of armed men intruding into Sabah. After weeks of a tense standoff between the “occupiers” and Malaysian security forces, a clearer picture has emerged.
It appears that the heavily armed group wants to turn the “occupation” into an international issue, specifically to draw attention to its plea for an independent Sulu sultanate.
But the sultanate is financially not in good shape and hence, the group turned its attention to Sabah where it claimed the Sulu sultan has “rented out” the state to Malaysia.
The Sulu sultan told AFP on Feb 27 that the Malaysian government is paying the sultanate RM5,300 yearly in exchange for agreeing to let Sabah become a Malaysian state.

Coping with inevitable Evil created by Government

by Joe Fernandez
The latest statistics available from a variety of sources on the National Debt Burden of Malaysia make very disturbing reading. The people should keep cash. This is no time for investments. Cash is King.

The Government continues to take solace in the fact that the vast majority of the people in the kampungs remain blissfully unaware and apparently continues to root for it under the tainted electoral system.

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